metalslugfandomcom-20200223-history
Metal Slug 4
Metal Slug 4 (メタルスラッグ4) is a run and gun video game for the Neo-Geo console/arcade platform created by SNK. It was released in 2002 for the MVS arcade platform and is the fourth game in the main Metal Slug series. Metal Slug 4 retains the same gameplay as previous titles, with the addition of some new enemies, bosses, weapons, several new vehicles and a new bonus combo system. It was later ported to the Microsoft Xbox and Sony PlayStation 2 along with Metal Slug 5 as a compilation. Story From the Metal Slug 4 Xbox manual: In the year 20XX the world trembles under a new evil: Cyber Terrorism. It started with a widespread proclamation across the World Wide Web of the creation and imminent deployment of the 'White Baby' computer virus, capable of breaking through all known security systems and taking control of the central military systems of every country in the world. The all powerful 'White Baby' was created by a terrorist organization calling themselves 'Amadeus - Ones Loved by God'. The emergency International Anti-Cyber Terrorism Conference, held as soon as the proclamation was deemed a viable threat, called for the extermination of the terrorist group 'Amadeus' and the enhancement of central military systems' security and facilities across the globe. The involvement of the special-ops PF Squad in the plan to wipe out 'Amadeus', including their presence in the computer networks of the world, was officially decided. Thus Marco, Fio, and new members Trevor and Nadia set out to take down the 'Amadeus' organisation, whilst Tarma and Eri set to work creating a vaccine for the 'White Baby' computer virus. After many hours of laborious recon work the special-ops PF Squad managed to obtain a link-up to a satellite feed displaying a meeting of suspected 'Amadeus' members. However, one of the men present at the meeting shocked all in attendance - it was Morden himself, the devil come back to life, shown clearly on the screen. Further information from a highly reliable source indicated that 'Amadeus' was planning to attack a communications facility in only a few hours' times. Such a facility was capable of transmitting 'White Baby' across the entire world! Can the PF Squad take down 'Amadeus' in time? And just what is the connection between the terrorist organisation 'Amadeus' and Morden...?Metal Slug 4 Manual, pg. 6. Gaming Hell. http://gaminghell.co.uk/images/mslug4manual0607.jpg ---- Upon defeating the Doctor and dismantling his Amadeus Mother Computer, the communications facility begins to self-destruct. Two endings occur whether the player successfully escapes or not: * Escaping the exploding facility leads to the rescue of the P.F. Squad from the Regular Army Helicopter. Tarma and Eri reward the player characters with a large feast where the guests of honor quickly gain weight. * Getting caught in the explosion leads to the player characters inside of a Regular Army medical clinic nursed by Rumi. Tarma and Eri come with get well gift baskets which the bandaged characters accept with a large grin. After the credits roll, a surviving Amadeus computer starts to transmit data. The computer immediately shuts down once transmission is complete. Whatever happens next is unclear. New Features *'New Characters': Tarma Roving and Eri Kasamoto are downgraded to NPCs. Replacing them are newcomers Trevor Spacey and Nadia Cassel. They both sport different melee weapons to attack: Trevor kicks enemies using his Knife Boots while Nadia wields the Stun Gun. *'Two Machine Guns': Allows players to carry two sub-machine guns with rapid firing. However, the 2H crates are very rare in the game and only have 200 shots like the Heavy Machine Gun. Marco, Trevor, and Fio have unique victory animations should they complete a mission with a 2H in hand. *[[Transformations|'Monkey Transformation']]: In Mission 1 and Mission 6, there are scientists with rifles. These are loaded with special chemical that transforms characters into monkeys similar to Utan. Players gain a much stronger jumping ability and are able to hang on the bars over their heads. Their pistol also turns into an Uzi. A disadvantage of being a monkey is one cannot pickup any other weapon, and they move slow. Players can be transformed back into human form by picking up an antidote dropped by scientists. Players who are hit by another chemical shot or by the attacks of the Rebels while in monkey form will die. *'Metallish System': By collecting a White or Blue Emblem, a blue bar appears under their score. The character who picked it up can earn medals by racking up points, and these medals change color as the points collected increases. Bonus points are given depending on the number of colored medals saved at the end of a mission. Note that this fever stops or is nullified when boarding a Slug. *'Increased Slug Defenses': Slugs take four hits instead of three in this game and Metal Slug 5. Slugs Returning from the previous game are the SV-001 and Slugnoid. Four new vehicles make their debut: *'M-15A Bradley': First appeared in MS2 as an enemy rocket shooting vehicle, it is equipped with powerful rocket shots and a Vulcan cannon like the Slugs. Players can use it after killing the enemy soldier inside of a blue colored Bradley. However, this vehicle has a very short jumping range and crouches much slower than the other vehicles, and lacks invincibility frames from enemy damage to an in-game bug. The Bradley is colored green. * Metal Crow: First appeared in MS1 as the "Melty Honey" under the control of the Rebel soldiers. It appears with the Bradley in Mission 2 in a two-player game and at Mission 5 alongside the Forklift. The Metal Crow is colored blue. It uses a Vulcan and high speed missiles. It is equipped with a blade-covered shield that protects the tank for five hits and also shreds enemies. *'Walking Machine': Mechanical version of the Mutated Soldiers from Metal Slug 2/X. Much like the animal Slugs in the previous games, it provides no protection to the player. The Walking Machine has a slightly better jumping ability, and its slight lift allows weapons, such as a rolling bomb, to go under the player without harm. It appears in Mission 4. *'Forklift': Appears in Mission 5 with the Metal Crow. Like the Drill Slug from MS3, it can lift itself up by pressing the jump button. It can stab enemies and destroy vehicles with the fork at the front by pressing the bomb button. The Forklift does not have a Vulcan cannon; rather, the player uses whatever weapon they have. The player is always exposed to enemy attacks. The players also take assistance of three different Regular Army vehicles: * RA-TTT: A Regular Army truck that transports the players to the next mission. Tarma helps the players inside of the truck at the top route of Mission 1. * Landseek: A Regular Army version appears in Mission 2 ridden by a POW. Both characters ride on top of it during a rail-shooter section. They cannot fall off the vehicle until the POW stops driving. * Regular Army Helicopter: A blue-colored Hi-Do mandated by Eri. In Mission 6, the characters descend using ropes connected to the helicopter. In this state, the players act as if they were scuba diving, so they cannot aim up or down. They also move slower horizontally than vertically. Missions and Bosses Development history Metal Slug 4 is product of a joint-venture between Mega Enterprise, a Korean game publishing and distribution company, and Noise Factory, a Japanese company focusing on creating musical scores. When SNK declared bankruptcy, Mega Enterprise still retained its rights to distribute several of SNK's titles within Korea. Mega went a step further by acquiring the authorization to continue to produce several of SNK's titles, primarily the Metal Slug series, which was very popular in South Korea. Since Mega Enterprise did not have the technical expertise to produce a game from scratch, they grouped together with Noise Factory, which helped to make the soundtrack of the game and several programming and design concepts. Metal Slug 4 was created using Metal Slug X as the base. After spending approximately 400 million won (approximately US$400,000), Metal Slug 4 was finally released in December 2002. Bugs, Glitches, and Oddities *The Bradley and Metal Crow do not become invincible after being hit, unlike other Slugs. This makes it very vulnerable, especially to the MH-6J Masknell which can fire three shots at once. *The death screams of zombiefied Marco and Trevor are switched. *Fio uses Eri's death scream in this game. *Both new characters have glitches with their melee attacks: **Trevor mobility is massively hindered while he is performing it which makes him vulnerable. **Nadia will only score 100 points from a melee attack while standing (which awards 500 points for every other character). Nadia scores 500 points only when a melee attack is done while sitting or crouching. Her Stun Gun can also damage an enemy vehicles and other destructible objects. * Nadia's sprite glitches out when performing a standing melee attack while equipped with the Two Machine Guns. Nadia's upper half moves back, almost separating from her legs, and comes back when melee attack is finished. * Trevor and Nadia's weapon muzzles are colored differently. Trevor's muzzle is white while Nadia's is red. Screenshots Image:Metal Slug 4 logo.png|Title screen Image:Metal Slug 4 Ingame 1.png|Using the Double Heavy Machine-Gun Image:Metal Slug 4 Ingame 2.png|Riding on a motorcycle Image:Metal Slug 4 Ingame 3.png|Transformed into a chimp Image:Metal Slug 4 Ingame 4.png|Using Trevor's melee attack Image:Metal Slug 4 Ingame 5.png|Riding the Bradley Image:Metal Slug 4 Ingame 6.png|Sliding on a log Image:Metal Slug 4 Ingame 7.png|Fighting the pirates Image:Metal Slug 4 Ingame 8.png|Fighting Mecha Allen Flyers and covers Image:Metal Slug 4 Arcade Flyer.jpg|Arcade flyer Image:Metal Slug 4 PS2 Cover.jpg|PlayStation 2 cover (PAL version) References